Lili‘uokalani board taps Asam to be new trustee

David Peters, who is retiring, praises the board's pick of the veteran educator

The board of trustees of the Queen Lili'uokalani Trust has nominated Claire Asam to replace trustee David Peters, who is retiring.

COURTESY PHOTO
Claire Asam has been nominated to be a trustee of the Queen Lili'uokalani Trust.

Asam's name will be submitted to the Probate Court, according to trust officials. If approved, she would be one of three trustees overseeing assets -- mostly land -- valued at $386 million and programs to help destitute and orphaned children.

Asam has been the president of the trust's program division since 1999. Prior to that, she was an educator for 25 years with the Kamehameha Schools, where she was also named a distinguished alumna. Asam also has a master's degree and Ph.D. in education from the University of Hawaii.

"Claire is a fine, fine person and she will do well," Peters said in a news release. "I look forward to helping her achieve a seamless transition."

Board Chairman Thomas Kaulukukui Jr. said: "Claire has impeccable credentials. She has devoted her life to the education and care of our Hawaiian and other children."

The Lili'uokalani Trust was established by Hawaii's last monarch with her family lands to help orphaned and destitute children, with a preference given to native Hawaiian children.

According to its 2005 annual report, the trust directly served 5,185 children and indirectly reached 25,101 children through its programs and at the Queen Lili'uokalani children's centers.

The trust distributed $16.7 million in 2006 for charitable purposes. It owns 6,500 acres of land, including property in Waikiki that generates lease rental income.

Most of the trust's land is on the Big Island. The trust is planning a major development in Kailua-Kona with the MacNaughton Group and the Kobayashi Group involving 3,500 acres and a proposed shopping center called Kona Commons, according to a trust spokeswoman.